Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Tres Vieilles Vignes

When Joseph Roty's family grafted new vines onto the Aux Charmes parcels in 1881 — the domaine's first post-phylloxera plantings — they could not have anticipated those same roots would still be producing fruit nearly 145 years later. That continuity is the technical foundation of the Très Vieilles Vignes designation: a sub-half-hectare holding yielding roughly 25–32 hl/ha from vines whose extreme age compresses berry size and intensifies phenolic concentration before a single winemaking decision is made.

The Charmes-Chambertin climat sits on marl and limestone soils on the Gevrey hillside, the calcium-rich bedrock pulling structural tension into the fruit while the clay fraction in Aux Charmes adds flesh and pigment depth. Grapes are 100% destemmed, double-sorted in vineyard and on table, then cold-soaked before fermentation with indigenous yeasts (a house practice since 1987) held below 30°C across a ~three-week cuvaison. The defining provocation: 100% new, heavily toasted French oak for all Grand Cru, with élevage running 15–18 months followed by a further ~10 months of bottle ageing in cellar before release — a wood regime that runs directly against Gevrey's current drift toward minimal oak and whole-cluster aromatics. The 2017 vintage delivered moderate yields with firm tannic architecture and focused dark fruit; Grand Cru from this year requires patience, with serious drinking from 2027–2035+.